Building Better Lives…

Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE)

Convincing high school drop outs to go back to school is a tough sell to a tough audience in Maryland. And of those who try, many quickly withdraw again as the challenge is harder than expected. So MSDE sat down with Doyle and developed a communications plan that pulled resources and information together in a better effort to both gain, and retain students in the MSDE GED or EDP programs. Focus group testing revealed that long term goals had to be a focus to motivate the audience to enroll, with informed preparation key to staying at it. The materials developed worked. The MSDE hotline increased on the first day from less than 2 calls a day to over 45.